


What's the biggest life changing you've had?

by Tezca



Category: Country Music RPF
Genre: AU, Car Accidents, Caretaker AU, Gen, Head Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-24
Updated: 2014-10-24
Packaged: 2018-02-22 11:26:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2506091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tezca/pseuds/Tezca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Big Kenny Alphin answers a question on Reddit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What's the biggest life changing you've had?

**Author's Note:**

> Got inspired to write an short AU Big and Rich fic in the form of a reply on Reddit.

[-] love_everybody 284 points 2 days ago

I saw this question a while ago and it took me some time to think and write out my answer. This question just stuck with me for the past few hours and it made me think really hard, not because it was hard to come up with something, but because I was having a hard time explaining my major life turning event that didn’t end up being a complete novel haha. But I managed to get it down to a sufficient length in size. 

The question only asked to list the biggest event that changed my life forever for better or for worse, but I feel like I can’t just list one single one because to me, however bad or good they were, I felt that they were all equally the biggest in their own way. After some thinking I realized one that I wouldn’t change for the world and that was becoming a caretaker for my close friend John Rich. Reason I’m putting his real name here is because you can easily search for his name, he used to be in Lonestar. 

Anyway I should probably start a bit in the beginning, just to build some context and because I’m pretty sure the same information would be harder to find by now. I originally laid out my story on a forum for caretakers and legal guardians a few years ago that I don’t think is around anymore. Me and John originally met in 1992, the band Lonestar had just formed,he was a part of that band while I just moved down from Culpeper, Virginia following the collapse of my company, Alphin Development Corporation due to the Saving and Loans crisis. Lost my wife too and most of my money and everything, it was brutal.

I ended up packing up what little stuff I owned, plus some money my parents gave me to help out, and moved down to Nashville in 1992. I got an apartment and quickly found a job at a local furniture store, my boss was impressed with my skills and the fact that I used to be a CEO. He would end up coming up to me with CEO related business sporadically whenever there was something he wanted a second opinion on or if he was confused about something. He was a good manager.

I met John a year later in spring of 1993 when he was doing a show with Lonestar in a bar that I decided to go to that night cause I had nothing else to do that night and I wanted to have some fun. So I was watching the show and when it was over the band decided to hang around a bit I think and John was trying pick up girls like most young boys are apt to do. I went up at one point to tell him that I thought they were great up there on stage and how much I enjoyed the show. Well we ended up talking further and I won’t bore you all with the little details, but by the end we ended up becoming friends...

We kept in touch and by the time 1994 came around I had created my own band luvjOI with a few of my other friends. We play the bars and clubs around Nashville and even the CMA Fest a couple of times. Me and John still kept talking and meeting each other whenever we had the chance. Well 4 years later the the biggest life changing event happened for me and John. He was involved in a car wreck, he was driving himself home and some guy who have been drinking completely smashed into his car. It was horrible, John ended up in the hospital for 10 days give or take. He ended up with a severe mental injury, enough to warrant a caretaker/legal guardian. He had speech and memory issues plus he couldn’t walk for very long without needing support, it was just….devastating.

He first went to go stay with his dad and stepmom, they signed onto being his caregivers. That lasted for about a month not because they were assholes...actually I take a bit of that back his dad would never know the right thing to say and would unintentionally make him cry, his stepmother explain it all to me. No it was because they both became aware that they couldn’t handle John and all of his newfound issues. His stepmom did tell me that she adapted easier, but couldn’t handle the fact that his dad was less patient with him. It was causing a strain there in their marriage a little bit.

So a month later they call me, they met me before and knew how much of a trustworthy friend I was to John. They call and asked me if I was willing to take on the job. It turns out that they talked about what they were going to with him and he requested living with me cause I was his best friend and that I was always good to him. I had no hesitation in saying yes and before I knew it, I signed the papers and John moved in with me. I immediately quit the band and I had John come to work with me to be my assistant in doing repairs and such. Its been like that for several years before I met my wife, now I’m a stay at home dad watching John and my two year old son while she runs her modeling business and be a stylist to the stars.

Of course we had our up and downs, thats just life, but overall we both adapted fairly easy, it was hard at first for both of us, but we made it work out, eventually fell into a happy routine and I don’t regret it at all. I would do it a second time if I had to do it all over.


End file.
